Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal officially opened The Queen Elizabeth II Garden in The Regent's Park, London, marking what would have been Queen Elizabeth II's 100th birthday.

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal with Dr Linda Yueh CBE, Chair of The Royal Parks (credit: The Royal Parks)

Created by The Royal Parks charity in collaboration with HTA Design, the new two-acre, climate-resilient garden is a living tribute to the life and service of the United Kingdom’s longest-reigning monarch. It features a wildlife-supporting circular pond and a central flower garden planted with species significant to Queen Elizabeth II, including her favourite flower, lily of the valley, which featured in her Late Majesty’s coronation bouquet.

The Queen Elizabeth II Garden, The Regent’s Park (credit: Clive Nichols)

The Royal Parks is the charity which manages, protects, and improves London’s eight historic Royal parks: Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, St James’s Park, The Green Park, The Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill, Greenwich Park, Richmond Park and Bushy Park. It also manages other important open spaces in the capital, including Brompton Cemetery and Victoria Tower Gardens.

The new garden has been designed with naturalistic, climate-resilient planting and is projected to achieve a 184% net gain in biodiversity. Crushed concrete from the former glasshouse foundations has been repurposed as an innovative growing medium. The Regents’ Park is the first known public park in the UK to use crushed concrete as a growing medium on this scale.

The Queen Elizabeth II Garden, The Regent’s Park (credit: Clive Nichols)

The design draws inspiration from Queen Elizabeth II’s passion for gardens, from the woodland walk at Buckingham Palace to the meadows at Frogmore. It includes a specially selected magnolia that typically flowers in April, around the time of the late Queen’s birthday; trees such as oak and elm, symbolising the strength of the monarchy, and plants with royal associations, including cultivars such as Narcissus ‘Diamond Jubilee’, Tulip ‘Royal Celebration’, Acer campestre ‘Queen Elizabeth’, and Magnolia ‘Windsor Beauty’.

The Queen Elizabeth II Garden, The Regent’s Park (credit: Clive Nichols)

The Princess Royal was taken on a tour of the garden where she proceeded to meet and thank members of the project’s landscape and horticulture teams.

Her Royal Highness visited the garden's restored water tower, which has been repurposed as a viewing platform and a wildlife habitat. Here she met blacksmith Ian Thackray, whose traditionally crafted decorative ironwork adorning the tower draws inspiration from the plants of the four nations of the United Kingdom as embroidered on Queen Elizabeth II's coronation gown.

The Princess Royal also met Josephine Jackson who, in 1956, became the first female gardener employed by The Royal Parks, having worked in the glasshouses that once occupied the site of the new garden.

The Princess Royal meets Josephine Jackson, the first female gardener employed by The Royal Parks (credit: The Royal Parks)

Her Royal Highness joined a reception attended by everyone involved in the creation of the garden as well as volunteers, donors, supporters and trustees, giving a speech and unveiling a plaque to mark the garden's official opening.

Dr Linda Yueh CBE, Chair of The Royal Parks, said: "We’re enormously honoured to welcome Her Royal Highness to officially open this very special new garden. The Queen Elizabeth II Garden is a place we hope will be cherished by Londoners and visitors for generations to come. It has been created with care and ambition - a beautiful garden that honours an extraordinary life and opens a new chapter in the long horticultural story of The Regent's Park."

The Queen Elizabeth II Garden, The Regent’s Park (credit: Clive Nichols)

James Lord, Head of Landscape at HTA Design, commented: “Designing The Queen Elizabeth II Garden for The Royal Parks has been a rare privilege and a significant responsibility. HTA’s ambition has been to create a living landscape rather than a grand memorial, through its layout, planting and crafted details, with sustainability informing every stage of the design. We hope the garden offers a place of quiet reflection and enjoyment, growing in meaning and character for generations to come.” 

The Queen Elizabeth II Garden opened to the public on 27 April 2026 and is free to enter.

If you or your group would like to visit this delightful new garden on a tailor-made trip to London, please do contact our friendly team today. Or perhaps you would like to enjoy a dedicated garden tour of England or the United Kingdom? If so, we can help!